Treatment of textile materials



Patented Dec.28 ,1937

Delaw r lirawing.

ing a reduction'in the'liistre'of cellulose esterand ethermaterials. t In- UZfS". Patent No1;l',554,8,01 is described the delustring offibres, threads, 'fabrics or the like made of or containingcellulose acetate or'other esters of cellulose, by the action of hot or boiling water or 'steain orfsolutior'is of certain substancesl ihis' inethod 'ofreducing the lustre of cellulose ester-and ethenmaterials, and in particular textile material's made of or containing filamentsoi acetone soluble'cellulose acetate, has

been. employed on" a ver extensive scale. The

reduction in lustrehas generally been effected by subjeotin'glhe rnaterialsto the action of an aqueous-snap solutionattemperatures approaching'the boiling point. Usually, it is necessary, in order to obtain the'desired degree of delustre, to carry out the treatmentwith the soap solution for a considerable time, for example .irom /g-4hoursor even more, the time depending for example upon th'e character of the fabric or other-material under treatment and the temperature. 1;

We. havefound that certain compounds of reIatively'high-boiling point or low volatility are of great value' as accelerators of the delustring action of hot aqueous media (that is, hot aqueous liquids or moist steam) on cellulose esterandether materials! We have found, for example, that amides of organic acids, especially amides of carboxylic acids or'aromatic sulphonic acids, .are.capable ofincreasing to a marked degre'e the rate of-delustring of cellulose ester and ether materials in hot aqueous liquids. Alternatively; they may beutili zed-to efiect the desired degree of delustringat a lowertemperature than is otherwise possible, oriagain for a given rate of delustring to enable the. operation to be 'performed at a lower temperature. For example, by dispersing or dissolving acetanilide or paratoluene sulphonamideinan aqueous soap solunon, the delustrlng action ,of the latter may be increased to amarkedtdegree. "Other bodies of relativelyhighboilingypoint having a plasticizing action-oncellulose esters orethers, we havefound, 1 may, similarly be; i employed to accelerate the, delustring t action of hot aqueous liquids. Preferably,.-tthese; compounds are i such, as have boiling pointsabove 200C. ejg. above 250 CL As examples ofilcompounds or classes'of compounds which may be utilized for accelerating or increasing the delustring: action of .hot aqueous liquids or moist steam' in' accordance with 1 the 2,103,45 a E M T ixi E l-E i s 1 v Holland Ellis and Ernest William Kirk, Spo'ndon, near Derby, England, assignors .to; Celanese Corporation of America, a corporation Applicatioii Octob'erG, 1933 Se; i 692,432. In Great Britain October 19,

a p H 2 Claims. (01. 23A This inventionrlates to-processes for effectpresent invention mention I may" be made of the following:- d 'Carboxylic amides containi'ng more than 61 carbon 'atomSQe. g; more than 8 carbon atoms, .for example a) .acetylatedorfother acidylated aromatic amines, e. g; a cetanilide on (b) amides or substituted amides such as aryl-, aralkyl-,

alkylor oxyalkylramidesof aromaticorhydroa,

, aromatic acids oraliphatic acids containingmore than 6 carbon atomaiparticularly .iatty "acids containing more than 10 carbon,atoms, f,e.1g. benzamide, phthalimide, benzanilidefdiacetyl-pphenylenediamine" diacetyl ben zi'dine; ol'eic amide;

or stearic amide. I Amides of sulphonic acids, for example amides or substituted amides (such as alkyl-, oxyalkyl-,

aralkylor aryl-amides)v of benzene oluene,

xylene or naphthalene sulphoniciao dafef gs p-toluene sulphonamide or it'sl N-imethyl or' N-ethyl derivatives, xylene 'monoj-rn'ethyl phonamide or mixtures thereofganddip ene-sulphobenzidine.

Camphors, menthols, terpineols and" othenhy dro-aromatic hydroxy, ketonic or other c'qm pounds of relatively high boilingpoint, I

Esters, for example (a) esters of phthalic acid, benzoic acid, naphthnic acids or other aromatic or hydro-aromatic monoacids with phenols, aliphaticv alcohols, or aromatic alcohols, e. g. benzylbenzoate, dimethyl phthalate, or diethyl phthalate, or 'dibutyl phthalate; (b) esters of aliphaticacids especially esters containing 6 or more carbon atoms; erg, methyl, ethyl ,or butyl oleate or stearate or diethylor dibutyl tartrate or other esters of hydroxy aliphatic acids; (0) estersof phosphoric acid, 'e. g. triphenyl or tricresyl phosphate or other aromatic esters; (d) esters of hydroxy acids, e. g. diethyl or dibutyl tartrate.

Ethers, e. g. dibenzyl ether. I Ketones, for example aromatic ketones, e. g. benzo-phenone and naphthyl phenyl ketones The delustring accelerators may be utilized in various ways for increasing the rate of delustring. Thus they may be dispersed or, where sufliciently soluble, dissolved in thehot water or other hot aqueous liquid used and the material; steeped thereinuntilthe desired degree of delustring has-beenattalned, H l- The dispersion of the, elustring accelerator in the hot aqueous bath may", be' 'eflected in anyflesired manner, for, example 'by ii eans of. soap, Turkey red oil or other dispersing agent," for example anyof, the dispersing'jagents described in or poly-carboxylic 1,690,481, 1,803,008, 1,840,572, 1,716,721, 1,928,647 and 1,959,352. It hasmoreover been found that the dispersion of water-insoluble accelerators may with very great advantage be assisted by the presence of solvents therefor, for example hydrocarbons, e. .g. xylene or a halogen hydrocarbon, in the manner described in connection with the dispersion of dyestuffs in U. S. Patents Nos. 1,690,481 and 1,803,008.

Other methods of producing dispersionsof the.

compounds used to assist delustring may however be employed, for example mechanical methods. Thus the compounds may be mechanically dispersed in water in the presence of the protective colloid, for example waste sulphite cellulose liquor, with or without a solvent for the comgound, e. g. benzene, xylene or other hydrocaron. I

The concentration of the delustring accelerator in the delustring bath may vary within wide limits and excellent results have been obtained by utilizing it in the proportion of about 5-20 grams, e. g. 10 grams per litre of the delustring bath. The temperature of the treatment may likewise be varied within considerable limits. For example, it may be 85 C. to 95 C. or 100 C. and, in order to reduce the time of treatment as much as possible, temperatures approaching the boiling point as nearly as practicable should be employed. The accelerator may be utilized either to reduce the time of delustring at a given temperature or to enable delustring to be effected in a a given time at a lower temperature than would otherwise be possible.

Another and very important method of utilizing the accelerators is that described broadly in British Patent No. 409,276, namely first to treat the materials with the compound in question and thereafter to subject them to the action of a hot aqueous bath which may or may not contain further quantities of the delustring accelerator. Thus, excellent results may be obtained by impregnating the material, for example by padding, with a relatively concentrated dispersion of the accelerator and thereafter passing the material through hot or boiling water. Under these conditions it has been found possible to effect the delustring operation by a passage of a few seconds only through a bath at or near the boiling point.

The dispersions of the delustring accelerators may be prepared in the same way as those intended for use in the bath treatment process re-- ferred to above. As indicated previously, the concentration may in this case be relatively high and very good results have been obtained by the use of a dispersion containing per 1000 parts 40-100 parts of delustring accelerator, e. g. parts, an equal quantity of solvent, e. g. xylene and 600 parts of 50% Turkey red oil.

Preferably as explained in British Patent No. 409,276, these concentrated dispersions of the delustring accelerators are applied to the materials at relatively high temperature and the materials are 'batched prior to delustring. The delustring of the impregnated materials may then be very simply effected by passing them through a bath of water maintained as near the boiling point as possible. Very good results may be obtained when a bath of plain water is employed, though if desired it may contain any desired additions, for example soaps and/or a further quantity of delustring accelerator.

The invention is not restricted to accelerating the delustring action of hot aqueous liquids, In

a similar manner thedelustring action of moist steam may be facilitated. Thus, the cellulose acetate or other cellulose ester or ether material impregnated with the delustring accelerator may be passed through a suitable apparatus in which it is subjected to the action of moist steam. The incorporation of the delustring accelerator may be effected in a manner similar to that described for the preparation of materials to be delustred by passage through. or treatment with a bath of hot water or other hot aqueous liquids.

The hereinbefore-mentioned compounds may also be utilized as delustring accelerators in the production of pattern effects upon cellulose ester or ether materials. Thus, they may be applied locally to the materials in any desired pattern and the materials thereafter subjected to the action of hot water or moist steam, in the manner described broadly in U. S. Patent No. 1,826,608. In this manner valuable delustred effects upon a lustrous ground may be obtained.

An important application of the present invention is in connection with the removal of glaze marks. from cellulose acetate fabrics. It has been found for example that by subjecting a material bearing glaze marks (e. g. marks produced by improper ironing) to the action of an aqueous solution of p-toluene sulphonamide of 3-10 grams e. g. 4 grams per litre strength at about 80-85 C. the glaze marks may be removed without substantial delustring of the material taking place. It appears that preferential delustring of the glazed portions is effected.- We have further found that other delustring accelerators may be similarly employed. For such glaze removal the conditions of concentration of agent, temperature and duration of treatment should be such as do not lead to any substantial delustring of the unglazed portions of the material.

If desired the baths containing the delustring accelerators or the baths employed for the delustring of materials preliminarily treated with delustring accelerators, or baths employed for glaze removal, may contain salts or other substances adapted to modify the delustring action of the bath, in the manner described for instance in U. S. Patent No. 1,808,061. By this means a pre-determined degree of delustre may more accuratelybe obtained or the rate of delustring controlled.

The invention has been described more particularly in connection with the delustring of materials made with acetone-soluble cellulose acetate. It may, however, be utilized in connection with the delustring of other cellulose ester or ether materials with the aid of hot aqueous liquids or moist steam.

The invention is illustrated but not limited by the following examples:-

ExaMPLE 1 To deZus-tre 10 kilograms of cellulose acetate woven fabric on the giiyger 800 grams of paratoluenesulphonamide are dispersed with 800 grams of Turkey red oil and suiiicient boiling soft water to obtain a clear liquid. This is then sieved into 80'litres of soft water contained in a suitable jigger and the temperature adjusted to 85 C. The fabric is then passed through this bath a suflicient number of times to obtain the desired delustre effect. It is then washed off, preferably on another jigger,

rinsed and dried or otherwise treated as requisite.

EXAMPLE 2 garment which has been improperly ironed A treatment bath is made up (large enough for complete immersion and easy handling of the aifected garment) of a 5 gram per litre solution of paratoluenesulphonamide in soft water The garment is immersed in this at 80 C. and worked for minutes. It is thereafter washed and dried.

EXAMPLE 3 v To delustre 10 kilograms of cellulose acetate woven fabric on the :iigger 800 grams of acetanilide are dispersed with 800 grams of Turkey red oil, and substituted for the paratoluenesulphonamide of Example 1 above. The subsequent procedure is then identical with that of Example 1. Instead of delustring the material by a number of passages through a hot, relatively dilute, dispersion .of the acetanilide, the material may first be padded at a temperature of about 85 C. with; adispersion containing about 10% of acetanilide. The material is thereafter allowed to stand for a time and is'then delustred by passage through an open tank of substantially boiling water. The material is thereafter washed 01f, rinsed and dried or otherwisetreated as may be desired.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: I v

1. Process for the treatment of cellulose acetate textile materials exhibiting glaze marks,

- which comprises subjecting said materials to the 'action of a hot aqueous bath comprising paratoluene sulphonamide and terminating the treatmentwhen theglaze marks are substantially removed and before the remaining parts of the fabric are materially'delustred.

2. Process for the treatment of cellulose acetate textile materials exhibiting glaze marks, which comprises subjecting said materials to the action fof a 0.3 to 1%aqueou's bath of paratoluene sulphonamide at a temperature of to C. and terminating the treatment when the glaze marks are substantially removed and before the remaining parts of the fabric are materially delustred. v

GEORGE HOLLAND ELLIS. ERNEST WILLIAM 

